The card slot machine was developed in New York City in 1891. The machine had five reels and fifty cards. There was not a single bar in New York City that had such a machine. The manufacturers hoped it would help people stay in line behind the bar.
Although the invention had no mechanism for dispensing money, the bar owner would reward the winner with his own merchandise. Because the machines were unreliable, it was easy for bar owners to pull winning cards out of the drum, reducing the likelihood of winning. Faye, improved the situation.
In 1887, German immigrant Charles August Fey invented a more advanced machine, from which modern slot machines originated. His Liberty Bell, Liberty Bell – after the bell that marked the independence of the United States from Great Britain – revolutionized the slot machine market.
People liked the name, and the idea of replacing five reels with three increased the speed of the results and made the results easier to read. Fey replaced the ten cards with symbols that included diamonds, horseshoes, spades and the liberty bell. Three bells in a row brought the highest winnings of 50 cents.
The inventor’s business flourished, growing from a small store to a slot machine factory. Fey didn’t stop there and came up with Card Bell, adding a new symbol, the “Star”, which offered the biggest prize.
Herbert Mills called his factory Henry Ford slot machines because it produced goods by assembly line. Fey began working with Mills and his company to create an improved slot machine with a winning mechanism.
The front of the machine had a classic bell and the inside of the machine had a cast iron case. The original machines in the series were made of cast iron supports; these were later replaced with decorative twisted legs when they were no longer needed for design reasons.
By then, Charles Fay’s production had fallen into disrepair after the earthquake, was unable to overcome commercial problems, and withdrew from the slot machine market. Mills continued to improve the machine, adding fruit symbols and a glass coin bank.
Fruit has two historical versions:
– Candy was played in slot machines, and the appearance of the candy was indicated by the fruit.
– In the past, slot machine winnings were not money, but chewing gum in different flavors, and the fruit flavors were indicated on the gum.
